This is a newsletter about psychedelics, change and values in the context of cultural and ecological flux. It’s about striving to live authentically and wisely. It’s a bit of a trip. Discussing tripping, like tripping itself, can be a confusing jumble, so this newsletter will work hard not to be. Confusing, that is. A jumble may perhaps be unavoidable.
This is appropriate, I think, because human life in the 21st century is a real jumble.
William James described the newborn coming into the world and finding themself in a “blooming, buzzing confusion”. All sensory stimuli, no sense. Crafting a coherent story from all of this is the task of development; it involves the work of parents, family, community and culture. Sometimes the stories we spin are useful and life-enhancing, sometimes they create tremendous pain and suffering. Other times our stories may be well-calibrated and useful, but we run into circumstances that are beyond what a person may be reasonable expected to adapt to.
It’s pretty clear our messy, pluralistic, fractious society, we’ve lost the plot.
How does this relate to psychedelics, change and values? And why are there all these pictures of cows?
I dunno. Psychedelics are weird. They are conceptual solvents that break down stories- the ones we tell ourselves, the ones we tell each other, and the ones that societies and cultures tell themselves. This may obviously be a destabilizing process, but after rigid and unhelpful conceptualizations are revealed to be only provisional and metaphorical, new possibilities may emerge.
We need new possibilities. All of us. And that’s what Tripping with Nate is about. Plus cows. Regeneratively farmed, of course.
See what others have to say:
Nate Gates is my go-to guy for all things psychedelic - education, wisdom, news of cutting edge science, and - of course - humor. Nate is the person who first got me interested in psychedelics as medicine, and he helped me figure out how to explore them (safely and legally!) on my own. What I've learned as a result has changed my life's trajectory. I'm eternally grateful to this guy.
-Miranda Morris, PhD, ACT trainer and ACBS board member
As a psilocybin facilitator of more than 20 years, I can honestly say that tripping with Nate is an eventful and extremely enlightening experience.
-Eric Osborne, founder of Mycomeditations retreat center and Psanctuary, a 508(c)(1)(A) faith-based organization, and Constitutional Church.
Nate has proven himself to be a strong voice in the rapidly growing field of psychedelic therapy. He is a knowledgeable and passionate advocate for ensuring access to accurate and evidence-based information on this exciting topic. He has a particular knack for providing context to help clinicians and non-clinicians alike make sense of the modern psychedelic landscape.
-Dr. Gregory Wells, clinical psychologist & MDMA research lead
Nate and I have opened our hearts and minds to this fascinating field, often coming at it from differing points of view, and I appreciate his bringing a steady, balanced, and open perspective as we continue expanding our therapeutic vision, skills, and capacities. In particular, his enthusiasm for and commitment to pushing back on the ill effects of the ‘war on drugs’ is infectious.
-Charles Jasper, PhD, Psychotherapist
Nate is a leader in the field of psychedelic-assisted therapy and brings a wealth of wisdom, experience, heart, and passion to his mission to promote the safe and thoughtful use of psychedelics for healing and growth. He is remarkably talented at communicating large amounts of information in a way that is easy-to-understand, down-to-earth, and funny as hell. Never a dull moment with Nate, he’s the guy I always want to trip with so I can highly recommend Tripping with Nate.
-Dr. Brian Pilecki, clinical psychologist, psychedelic researcher, and co-host of Altered States of Context podcast
